My friend Jake is in a lather about two recent Oak Park incidents. One was the commencement-oration declaration (an occurrence at OPRF stadium) by a high school board member who announced that we are progressive (Democrats) and "and it feels great to say it."

Ask a tax-and-spender, usually a Democrat, how much tax is too much, and he will hem and haw. Ask how high a minimum wage should be, and he will react the same way. The answer he is groping for, of course, is whatever the traffic will bear. The market, that is. He will put his finger to the wind and decide what will sell. He's in the business of getting elected, after all.

State Sen. Don Harmon's optimism at the Business and Civic Council's Carleton Hotel session on June 28 has been noted. More can be said. He protested "sky [is] falling" rhetoric about Illinois' pension problem and praised the legislature for having "cut government to the bone."